Something incisive is happening in the House scene of Luxembourg: Lauter Unfug. The German wordplay actually means fooling with loudness. Whatever, no one’s fooling around except having loads of fun since the crew Pierre Bellion, Alex Heide and Thierry Loesch started setting up successful events in Luxembourg. A true enrichment for the electronic music culture in this small but nice country. A great choice of figureheads from today’s scene are lured by a music-based credo, thereby acts like Karotte b2b Gregor Tresher,Coyu b2b Ramiro Lopez, Kink, Dave Clarke, Mathias Kaden, Marek Hemmann, Matador, Gaiser, Claptone are regular guests and a bunch of headliners to follow. A good reason to go ahead for the next step and creating a music label – Lauter Unfug Musik.

The resident DJs since the hour of birth from Lauter Unfug build the artistical heart: Riven, ND Catani, Makz Stanley and Alex Heide. All of these have developed their own styles and released on several labels. The core is surrounded by local producers & by the Berlin crew Peter Berg, Dominik Vaillant. In addition, label friends from Freude Am Tanzen, Stil Vor Talent, Hush Recordings and My Favourite Freaks showing their support. The mixture of artists define the focus of the label sound, it’s centered by House music in different variations and moods. Driving and techy tracks facing deep and atmospheric vibes, but always with the groove and tactfulness.

It’s a pleasure to be joined by A&R of the label Pascal Augner aka Beatamines to talk with us about Lauter Unfug. I’m almost sure this is the first label we have featured based out of Luxembourg on Decoded Radio. I was curiuos to hear how healthy the house music scene in Luxembourg currently? Pascal informed me “Measured by the huge feedback we get from the house scene regarding our events and releases, there is a very vital and healthy scene over here. Lots of very enthusiastic and crafty People. Feels good to be a part of it and see this thing growing more and more.”

Pascal’s third studio album titled ‘X’ was released on the 28th May. I congratulated him and asked to discuss his development as an artist between albums. ‘In Motion’ was the first in 2011 followed by ‘Echoes’ in 2016 on the excellent Einmusika and now his latest work on Lauter Unfug. How have your work practices developed between the three? Pascal replied –

“Considering the fact that 7 years are a pretty large time-span I personally developed on a technical basis, but also on an inspirational basis as well. Over the years my studio and technical environment overall has improved a lot. Starting by my monitor setup, my devices and my outboard gear. I’m constantly wrestling with the fact that, good music starts in your head, so it’s also important to work on your creative workflow, to get some fresh ideas which hopefully will work out there in the clubs and of course in the ears of my listeners.”

To eventually end up releasing your own album on your own label is an accomplishment you must be proud of. I asked what are the pros of releasing your own work over another label? Pascal explained “Releasing an album is always an accomplishment for me, to be honest. But releasing albums on labels which are not my own is a completely different case. There are at minimum 2 visions meeting together which end up in a vital mix of both of them. Whereas on your own label you have the creative freedom to really transport your own vision to the people, but on the other hand it simply results in a lot more work which is fine though.”

As mentioned earlier Lauter Unfug is a house event. I asked about the label being a natural progression from the events to which Pascal followed “Exactly, while our events growed over the years and created a lot of positive feedback, it was simply a no brainer to start releasing our own music which always was inspired by the artists and people attending our events.” Additionally, he added –

“Our focus was to push Luxembourg as a place for electronic music from around the world and from Luxembourg of course.”

It’s also interesting to find you have a hip hop background which seems to be a familiar way into house music by many artists I have spoken too. What were you listening to back then and how did it influence you moving forward? “Hip Hop always played a big role in my musical career and my life. From Africa Bambata to the Wu-Tang Clan there was lots of stuff I was down with. Hip Hop in general has always a very unique and almost funky attitude, speaking in terms of sound. And this is something I would like keep for my own music as well.” You also had a Break Dancing career over the span of a decade. I would love to hear this story? Pascal told me –

“In the year 1999, when I was 14 years old, I started to breakdance in my Hometown Erfurt. A bit later I joined a formation called ‘Stylistics’ and we started to attend several competitions like the Battle of the year. I also started to teach people how to breakdance, which I’m doing until today. Without my passion for breakdance, I would have never started making music.”

So then how did your crossover to house music happen? “It was somewhere around 2005/2006, when I was diving into the house scene and a whole new world opened up in front of me. I met a lot of new people and attended a workshop about making electronic music, held by Marek Hemmann. So, it was no later than that I was on fire and infected with the house virus.”

Let’s now talk about today’s roll as A&R for a record label. What do you find are the challenges with todays oversaturated market? “One of the key aspects is to have a clear strategy in mind, for like the whole PR and Social Media Stuff which is mandatory to spread new artists music. One thing I enjoy the most is of course to really dig deep while finding artists which are very unique but still unknown yet to a larger audience. Most important for me is to have a good overview over the whole scene, to be up to date about new trends and sounds.”

I explained I was only discussing the other week at Junction 2 Festival in London with Luke Brancaccio and Tim Healy how music has become so disposable. I asked as a new modern-day label how do plan your releases to have maximum sustainability? Pascal explained –

“I think in these days it’s important to create timeless pieces of music to preserve your face and to place a stronger emphasis on the fact that music still comes from our hearts and minds. It’s important to set trends rather than chasing after trends.”

The Lauter Unfug label is self-tagged as Tech House. The genre has become somewhat of a dirty word of late in how generic the sound has become. Coyu even released a statement Suara will no longer release any more tech house material. I asked his thoughts on this to which he openly stated “Finding yourself between House & Techno is somehow a sweet spot in my opinion because whatever you do you have the freedom to create what you want. And regarding the fact that everything will come up again over time, it’s just a question of time that Tech house will come to its former glory again.

And the big question… How does the style and sound of Lauter Unfug counteract this?

“First, we try to establish a permanent and solid roster, while we let our artists rise and shine over time. It’s always a process in which we invest time and money into our artists to let them develop their own unique style and raise their quality of sound overall.”

And speaking of the roster I’d like to talk about some of the artists on the label. Can you introduce us to some of your artists? “Sure, first there is Circle of Life from Belgrade, Serbia. Here we have a very experienced artist with a ton of solid high-quality releases. The next one is Matchy from Berlin with his high output and a very modern sound. I play a lot of gigs with him and it’s always a pleasure for me. Then there is Alex Heide from Luxembourg, which is somehow the good soul of Lauter Unfug. He is also a strong networker and always surprises us with his deep melancholic sound. And ND Catani also from Luxembourg stands for a progressive but melodic sound and also has some administrative tasks inside Lauter Unfug. Not forgetting in the end there is me, but I think there is now nothing more to say.”

At his point I’d like to mention you have previously worked close with David Jach who we have featured on Decoded last year. He spoke about his love of nature when looking for inspiration in new material. Taking his bike and cruising into the nature, relaxing in the sun. Do you have certain environments which also help you?

“My real comfort zone is right in between my family and friends which inspire me, help me wherever they can. Additionally, there are my hobbies like cooking, good wine, cutting hairs of my friends, breakdance and a bit graphic stuff, but mostly for PR purposes.”

Next, we spoke about the feature mix for Decoded Radio? A few tracks in there by yourself but can you talk me through the other artists you have included, and their releases? “Let’s start with Oliver Eich‘s ‘Tourbellion’ which will be released on Lauter Unfug later this fall. He’s a good friend of mine from Hamburg and there will be lots of new stuff from him in the future. Another track I would like to mention is ‘Enlightenment’ from Ausilio Jó. Ausilio is our latest newcomer on our imprint which really knows his business and is a very crafty musician. I’m very happy about signing Steve Cole with ‘Way of Life’ he made together with Max Joni. Still getting goose bumps listening to Max’ voice. Starkato with ‘Hydra’ is a high-quality production here represented with a masterpiece of a remix by Lake Avalon. Such a timeless wonderful piece of music which finds his place easily in every set.”

And did it provide you with a good reflection on the label to date? “Since I had in mind to create a good reflection of the label it’s a very diverse mix which demonstrates our solid roster in a very decent manner. And of course, I had a lot of fun mixing and recording it.”

Before we end the interview, I noticed you are a lover of good food and cuisine. Do you have a signature dish you like preparing yourself or have any recommendations of places to eat? “When it comes to cooking I’m a purist and if there is any signature dish it would be Spaghetti Bolognese which I enjoy in combination with a glass of some nice primitivo (red wine).”

It was great catching up with Pascal and thanked him for providing an excellent guest mix for the show. To round off our chat he added –

“It was also a pleasure for me answering these questions which take a lot of research in the first place. I would highly suggest to check out or events in Luxembourg and Berlin and always keep an ear open for new stuff of Lauter Unfug. Take Care!”